Calves Priority Workout

In this article, we will show you a two-day workout split, which is suited for intermediate and advanced athletes, and focuses on the development of one of the most underrated muscle groups, namely- the calves.

Day 1- Pump!

During day one, our focus will be maximum and optimal blood filling of the calf musculature, meaning that we will be doing long sets with a high number of reps.

Warm up

Make sure to warm up your ankles, hips and knees. After warming up, proceed to some light cardio- 10 minutes of moderate pace rope jumping would do perfectly fine.

Exercise

Number of Sets

Number of Repetitions

Straight leg calf raises

5

25+

Single leg calf raises

5

30+

Calf stretching

3

20 seconds

Exercises

Straight legged calf raises

Execution

Get under the pads, so that you are comfortable

Step with your toes on the edge of the stepping platform

Let your heels down slowly, stretching the calves

Push up, contracting the calves

Hold contraction briefly

Let the heels go down again, slowly

Single leg calf raises

This exercise can be done with body-weight at first, and dumbbells once your body-weight is not sufficient to put a significant load on the calves.

Execution

Step with one of your legs on an edge- stand on your toes

Let the heel down to stretch out the calf musculature

Push up, contracting the calves

Calf stretches

Execution

Stand up straight against a wall

Touch the wall with your toes, then lift them up, while keeping the heel on the ground

Keep your body straight, while stretching the calves as illustrated

Note

Stretch each calf individually.

Hold the stretch for up to 15 seconds.

All of the exercises are very simple- The movement is a basic calf raise on your toes, with a brief pause during the peak contraction and a slow negative (you let down slowly before the next repetition)

Note

The rest times between sets are up to 180 seconds.

Day two- Intensity

This second calf workout relies on short, heavy sets that will really put the fast muscle fibers in the calf musculature to the test.

The goal for the first exercise is to lift a big volume of weight for a short period of time, using moderate pace during execution.

Standing calf raises

The second exercise on day two, is the same as the first exercise on day one- The emphasis is on calf movements, done with straight legs, as this allows us to put maximum tension on the meaty part of the calves.

How to place those workouts within our training split?

Day one and day two calf workouts should have at least a 48-hour period between them, which makes them perfect to fit in within a 3-day training split.

Make sure to avoid doing these workouts the day before your leg day, as exhausted calves will take away from your leg workout.

These calf workouts are best used during the beginning of your off-season, in your well-planned training strategy.

Calves, as we know can be one of those stubborn muscle groups, of which it’s development, many people blame on genetics.

However, we can assure you that through proper workouts, you can get the best version of YOUR calves, no matter how they are shaped and inserted genetically.